Tennessee football vs. UAB: 10 keys for Vols and Blazers

10. Third down conversions

They got better last week. But Tennessee football is still really bad at getting off the field on third downs. The Vols are ranked No. 92 on third down defense, allowing teams to convert over 41 percent of the time. But the UAB Blazers, on the other hand, are horrible at converting, only doing so 35.6 percent of the time, good for No. 104 in the nation.

So when the Vols try to stop the Blazers on third down, something’s got to give. If something does give, on paper it should be UT improving on its third down defense, as they actually have a solid defense. UAB’s offense is simply not built to convert on third downs. That’s one thing that could potentially favor the Vols.

But what about the other side of the ball? Well, UT has a top 50 third down offense, converting 41.7 percent of the time. UAB, meanwhile, has the No. 6 ranked third down defense, allowing opponents to convert only 27 percent of the time. So in smaller fashion, once again, something’s got to five. And in that case, it likely favors the Blazers.

These things become critical in games designed to be defensive struggles like this one. What makes it worse for UT, though, is just how bad they are on fourth down, going two-for-11 on the year, making them the worst in the nation with an 18 percent conversion rate. To avoid issues that come from that, they’ve got to win it on third down.